Well the black powder bug has bitten me pretty bad and I recently picked up a new Armi Sport 1861 Springfield to go along with my 1860 Army and 3rd model Dragoon. I still haven't had the chance to get the rifle out to the range but I have a question regarding the metal ram rod that came with it. I noticed that the non-ramming end is threaded and would like to know what the purpose of this is. Is this the way the original ram rods were made? Thanks!

Thanks for that info Hawg. I am planning on getting the 1861 out to the range tomorrow or the next. After doing a lot of research on firing and loading it I think I have the basics down (hammer to half cock, pour measured powder charge down barrel, lube Minnie and insert into muzzle, tap Minnie down with rod, install musket cap, aim, hammer to full cock and fire). I'll be using .575 dia 566 Gr soft lead Minnes and with a load of 50gr Pyrodex Select RS powder to start with and see how close this gets me on paper. I also understand that you must lube the Minnie prior to inserting it into the barrel. I have some Traditions wonderlube 1000 plus that I am planning on using for this. Without making my own lube, Is this something that will work appropriately for lubing the Minnie or is there something better? I have also read conflicting info that states I should still use some sort of patch or wadding even if using a Minnie. I don't believe this is the case for this type of musket rifle when shooting Minnies, but can anyone confirm this for me? Thanks again for helping out a newbie...

Hello, barakmd. Some fill base with crisco. No patch on minnies. The wonderlube should work fine. One thing I did with mine..I bought an extra nipple & drilled it out as large as I could..forced flexable plastic tubing over nipple end. You can place this in a bucket of hot soapy water & using a snug patch "pump" water up into brl. to clean..wrap a towel around muzzle end to prevent water sloshing down onto stock. Have fun!

No patch on a minie. I've packed the base with lube but I prefer to lube the grooves. I use 70 grains of RS in my Enfield. The original charge was 60 grains of bp for Northern Troops and Southern troops used 65. The minie should load very easily. My ramrod alone will push mine down the bore until the last three inches or so no matter if it's the first shot or fiftieth. The hose on the nipple idea is a good one but I don't see the need for drilling a nipple out. The smaller the hole the more pressure you get.

In my original 1861 Springfield, I fill the base with Crisco. Now, I don't shoot it a lot, so I can't say how that works after 30 or 40 rounds (that would represent a year or two's worth of shooting of the old gun), but it remains very accurate after 150 years.

60 grains of FF and no patch. I do put an unlubed wad under the ball just to keep the powder de-gooped. I've always done it that way, so I don't know if it really makes a difference.

__________________Well we don't rent pigs and I figure it's better to say it right out front because a man that does like to rent pigs is... he's hard to stop - Gus McCrae

In my original 1861 Springfield, I fill the base with Crisco. Now, I don't shoot it a lot, so I can't say how that works after 30 or 40 rounds (that would represent a year or two's worth of shooting of the old gun), but it remains very accurate after 150 year

I have also packed the base of the bullet with lube, but I have been told that this may give inconsistent accuracy as sometimes more and sometimes less lube stays with the bullet as it leaves the barrel, which alters the bullet mass, affecting ballistics, and may alter the balance of the bullet as it spins, resulting in loss of accuracy.

I've been using the same soft lube I've been using for over ball lube. It gets kind of sticky after awhile but I get virtually no fouling. I've been thinking about pan lubing some with the stiffer lube I use for cartridges.

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